


Talk to me

by c_c_cherry



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Link has a fear of storms, Link hates storms, Link is verbal in this, My First Work in This Fandom, Poor Link (Legend of Zelda), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Repressed Memories, Specifically thunder, Storms, Thunder and Lightning, afraid, no beta we die like men, scared, zelink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 07:10:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20811122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c_c_cherry/pseuds/c_c_cherry
Summary: Although over a month has gone by, neither Zelda nor Link have spoken about their experiences and traumas involving Ganon. But when a storm hits during their travels, will they finally open up to each other?AKA: Even though they're both 117, both Link and Zelda are 17 at heart, and still can't talk to each other. Also Link has a crippling fear of storms that he fails to notify his friend about.***Guys I'm sorry this was meant to be fluffy and angsty but instead it turned into some heavy angst and went completely off course  whoops***





	Talk to me

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the link to some thunderstorm audio, it just makes the story wayyy more immersive (you'll know when to use it): 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekXFslHOvZ8
> 
> ***
> 
> Honestly, this entire account is a disaster of terrible fics, but please, without further ado, enjoy this garbage that I call:
> 
> BOTW ANGST HURT/COMFORT~
> 
> So, this was supposed to be just a cute little ficlet of Zelda comforting Link in his lil time of need but of course 12 pages later my brain decides to make it wayyy too angsty IM NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING-
> 
> Ok just ignore this entire disaster that I call a beginning note and just read this garbage already!

“Alright. According to the map, it should take about 3 more days to reach Zora’s Domain. We’re making good time here, aren’t we, Link?” 

Link felt his heart warm his body as Zelda smiled warmly.  _ Genuinely _ . There were so many times a hundred years ago that she had to “smile” during so many occasions, so many meetings, so many failed attempts. She had to put on a brave face and smile through it all. Now it was different. 

Link nodded in agreement and walked alongside the princess as they picked the last of the apples they had come across. Link stooped down and fed one of his to his horse and shoved the rest in his bag, securing it onto the horse’s saddle. 

“It’s funny. I never knew how much food could grow in the wild. I suppose I always thought that it came solely from farms, now.” Zelda said thoughtfully, examining the red fruit, “I assumed that most life had been wiped out from the Calamity, but somehow things still managed to grow. It’s fascinating.”

“It’s just that…” The princess paused, rolling the apple around in the palm of her hand, seeming lost in thought. 

“Oh, nevermind.” she said absentmindedly, turning to Link, “We should get going. The faster we travel the faster we’ll get there.”

Link breathed out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. It had been at least a month or so since the couple had defeated Ganon, but both still had yet to talk to each other about it. You would assume that two people would bond over shared trauma, but Link felt like treading on that territory just pushed them away. 

It seemed like both of them were reluctant to speak about their experiences; he still had no idea how Zelda stayed, holding back Ganon for his 100 year slumber and she had yet to know about his epic quest while she was keeping Ganon at bay. 

He sighed and remained content. He walked away from the apple tree, mounting his horse as the princess did the same and, side by side, rode closer and closer to their destination. 

* * *

The sun had finally begun to set, and the two of them were closer than before after a long day of traveling. Zelda breathed in a breath of fresh air and admired the mountains as their horses slowly trudged on. She liked that she had more time to appreciate nature now. It felt nice. 

Link rode on silently next to her, seeming as content as she was. The champion leaned his head back, his eyes partly closed, and embraced the wonderful weather. Zelda giggled. She barely saw this side of Link before the Calamity, but she was glad that she could now. 

Sure, he was still a silent champion, but not  _ as _ silent as before. He spoke when he felt he needed to, now. He now felt that the burden he carried upon his back was no longer so heavy that his words were locked away. And he wasn’t sworn to her anymore, either. He could go off and live his life as he wanted, yet he preferred to stay by her side. She found it comforting.

Link seemed to have heard her soft giggling, as his eyes flew open and his head turned to hers, an eyebrow raised. 

“Nothing’s wrong, Link. I just like seeing you so happy.” 

She watched as the hero’s face flushed red, his mystical blue eyes barely meeting hers. 

“You act like you’ve been caught doing something forbidden!” Zelda laughed heartily, “We have the freedom to feel  _ happy  _ now. No one can tell us that we cannot do so!” 

Link looked long and hard at her before chuckling as well, their giggles turning into small fits of laughter which echoed through the trees and the mountainside like a song. 

Their laughter was cut short when Link’s face perked up, his eyes suddenly taking on a serious tone. Zelda sobered up and frowned. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Link’s eyes glanced up at the clouds, which were now forming a dark wall above their heads. A soft rumbling could be heard in the distance. Link bit his lip in concern. 

“I think it’s going to rain soon, Zel.” 

By late evening, it was Zelda who had felt the first drop on her nose. Blinking in surprise, she watched another one fall onto her hand. And another. And another. Soon the landscape was being sprinkled with soft rain, the quiet sound being heard throughout as the sun finally set. 

“We should find somewhere dry.” Link looked tense, his eyes fixated on the sky. 

Zelda much enjoyed the rain, but she didn’t want to spend the night in the cold with wet clothes and gear. Link was right.

After staring at their map, they noticed in annoyance that there was no small town anywhere remotely near them. Link closed in on the map to locate any stables, and to their disappointment, there was nothing. 

The sun had set. It was getting dark. They were starting to get cold, too. 

“I think we have no choice but to trudge on. There could be unmarked shelter up ahead.” Zelda sighed, grabbing the reins on her horse. Link remained tense, but nodded in agreement. 

After what felt like hours, but was probably more like 45 minutes, Zelda squinted and noticed a peculiar structure in the distance. Upon further inspection, she noticed:

“A cabin! Link, I think that’s a cabin over there!”

The two of them picked up speed as the rain finally pattered down harder on them, the sprinkle becoming a full-on rain. Dismounting their horses into a small stable-like thing attached to a cabin, they pulled out their wallets and walked into the small cabin, hoping to offer money for a bit of shelter for the night. Zelda shivered, wet clothes clinging to her, but as Link knocked on the door, he found no answer. 

Slowly pulling the door open, they found that the cabin was dark and almost completely empty. Clearly someone had not been here for years. 

“It seems abandoned.” Zelda thought out loud, “ But...should we really go into someone’s house?” 

The patter of rain on their backs morphing into a violent stream of water gave them no other second thoughts as they pushed through the door with their things pulled off their horse’s saddles. 

* * *

The rain’s hard drops could be heard from the roof and the outside, which made them feel at ease that they were no longer in the sudden downpour and sheltered by this wooden lodging. 

Link sighed in frustration as he found that most of his wooden weapons were completely soaked, but felt relief as he found a single torch in the bottom of his pack that remained mostly dry. Lighting it, he lit the only light in the centre of the room that had long ago been burnt out, giving them a dim lighting in their cabin. 

Zelda shivered, and Link found himself starting to freeze up in his wet clothes as well. The two stripped hastily and grabbed their other set of dry clothes, hanging up the wet ones up to dry. 

“Can we close the window?” Zelda asked, making her way over to one of the walls. Wind whipped harshly outside, shaking the cabin and coming in through the open window. But upon closer inspection, Zelda found that the window had long been broken. 

“Well, at least the window isn’t above the bed…” she thought to herself, “But it seems to be quite close to the light. Let’s hope the wind isn’t strong enough to blow it out. 

Link nodded. He took the torch and lit a small fire in the fireplace, bringing out their apples from earlier. The room had barely anything in it; a fireplace, a now lit lantern hanging in the centre of the room, a wooden chair that seemed to be rotting, and a sturdy, rather large bed. A mattress made of hay and fabric still lay on the bed, but any blankets or pillows were already gone. 

“What are you making?” Zelda asked, pulling out their bedrolls and pillows from her pack and setting them up cozily on the bed. She was reluctant to bring such items as they would stay in stables and inns, but Link insisted on bringing them ‘just in case’. 

“Looks like simmered fruit tonight.” Link answered quietly, blowing out the torch and readying the apples, “We can go hunting tomorrow morning so we can have something meaty. But this is all I can do for now.” 

“I think it’s perfect.” Zelda answered, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around him. Link turned and returned the gesture, smiling warmly, but Zelda noticed something  _ off _ about him. His shoulders were too tense. His gaze looked to be somewhere else.

“Something wrong?” she asked him, kneeling down beside him as he put the apples in the cooking pot. Link bit his lip at the question, but shook his head. 

“Are you sure, Link? Because you can talk to me. After all we’ve…” Zelda stopped herself, slowly trailing off. Now probably was  _ not _ the time to bring up old memories about their trials and hardships. 

_ Will there  _ ever _ be the right time? _

Noticing her distress, Link patted her head affectionately and smiled, “Everything’s fine, Zel.”

Nodding skeptically, Zelda soon forgot the ordeal as Link finished making their meals and the two sat in comfortable silence, sitting on the side of the bed and eating. Their legs dangled off the side of the bed, and the two of them slipped off their shoes and set their plates down by the fire, which Link had now put out. 

The dim light of the lit lantern hanging from the ceiling was their only light, and the two of them laughed as they recalled a memory from Gerudo Town when Link first accompanied Zelda to the women’s only haven, still sitting on the side of the bed.

“You were the  _ only _ voe there!” Zelda giggled. Link’s ears grew hot at the thought of it. His eyes shined brightly as he too chuckled at the story. 

“Urbosa had to escort us, remember? I thought that one guard was going to  _ kill _ me!” Link replied, covering his mouth as his small fit of laughter turned into a bigger one. Zelda had her hand laid beside her on the bed and Link placed his hand over hers, both not noticing the gesture as they continued to laugh about old stories.

Link had recovered most of his memories by now. He felt whole again for the first time in awhile. He was glad that he could finally laugh about old times with Zelda again. When he first woke up in the shrine of resurrection, he thought he would never regained any memory of who he once was.

Link’s eyes lit up as he thought of an especially funny time.

“Hey! Remember when—”

** _*BOOM*_ **

The cabin shook from the ground up as an exceptionally large thunderclap shook the skies. The wind picked up speed and the rain pattered harder on the roof. Even Zelda herself felt shocked into silence as she watched the lantern hanging from the ceiling swing back and forth slowly from the impact.

She finally regained focus and waited for Link to continue his story, but found that he wasn’t speaking. The hero beside her tensed up significantly, the hand on top of Zelda’s tightening its grip as his eyes flew shut, a painful expression on his face. 

“Link?” Zelda inched closer to him in concern, “Are you alright?” 

Link’s eyes flew open again, his gaze elsewhere. She watched as his face flickered through a thousand emotions before he regained a neutral expression again. 

“Link?”

“I’m fine.”

Link slowly lifted his hand off of Zelda’s and crossed his arms tightly against his chest, shrinking into 

Himself. His expression looked shameful, his lips pursed slightly and his eyes widened. He looked pretty shaken up.

“Link, you’re awfully tense. Please, tell me what’s wrong.” Zelda begged, placing a soft hand on his shoulder. She knew it was hard for him to open up, but maybe a nudge would help him voice his feelings. 

Link seemed to melt into her touch at first, but soon shrugged it off and dropped his head down, letting his hair fall in front of his face. 

“Link—”

***** ** _BOOM*_ **

Link’s breath hitched in a small gasp, his knees now pulled up to his chest. Zelda frowned in confusion as she brought herself closer to him. 

“What’s wrong?” After no response, she placed one tender hand on his shoulder and another one on his head, “Look at me, Link.” 

She slowly lifted the champion’s head up and let out a soft gasp. His blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and his expression looked fearful. 

She didn’t say anything for the longest time and Link felt awareness suddenly hit him as the tips of his ears burned red. He quickly blinked any tears away and regained his neutral expression. His voice cracked as he spoke.

“We should get to bed.” 

Zelda nodded in worry.

* * *

They silently got under the covers and took off their socks, setting them in their shoes. The bed was pressed up against two walls, the top and side of the bed were protected by wooden walls, and the foot of the bed had just enough room on the ground to put their shoes and packs. 

Link gave Zelda the most sheltered side of the bed, his primal instinct was to keep her safe, but the princess didn’t miss the worried expression on his face that came with it. Zelda frowned as Link pulled the covers over his head, hair covering his eyes. He refused to look at her. It was bone-chilling. 

The bed was large enough so that the two of them had breathing room and just enough room so that the two barely touched each other. It was still  _ much _ smaller than Link’s bed in Hateno and the beds in Hyrule castle, but Zelda didn’t seem to mind. 

Ultimately, they decided to keep the lantern lit as it was their only source of light in this winding, dark, stormy woods. Zelda felt her eyes start to grow heavy with exhaustion, and she turned her head to the hero sleeping next to her, who had his back to her. The patter of rain on the roof gave her a steady rhythm to fall asleep to.

“Goodnight, Link.” she whispered. Link didn’t answer.

* * *

** _*BOOM*_ **

A monumental clap of thunder sent Zelda’s eyes flying open. Blinking, she remembered,  _ We’re in a cabin. It’s just a storm. _

Zelda was actually very fond of rain and storms on late nights. She wondered if Link rather enjoyed them as well. She rolled over to see if the crash had woken him up as well, but outstretching her arms, she frowned.

_ Where’s Link?  _

Sitting up, she squinted her eyes in the dim light, and looked around. 

_ He can’t be outside in this weather… _

Blinking in surprise, she saw the silhouette of the hero at the foot of the bed, hands grasping the sheets next to him aggressively. She couldn’t tell over the sound of the rain, but she thought she could hear his breathing from over here. 

“Link?” she asked groggily, “What are you doing?”

The hero jumped, startled, but stayed in the same spot, his back to the princess. She could see his hands shaking slightly in the dim light above them. 

She begged him softly to come back to bed, but the hero remained in the same spot in silence. Zelda sighed and sat up straighter. There  _ had _ to be something going on with him. 

Before she could speak again, Link’s voice, soft and low said something. Zelda craned her neck and raised her eyebrows. 

“What was that?”

“We’re…” he paused, “We’re in a forest...do you think we’ll get... _ struck?” _

Zelda, confused replied, “What, by the _ lightning? _ No, Link. We’re in a cabin. Don’t be silly.” 

She watched as the hero’s head turned to the window, standing up suddenly and walking cautiously over, muttering to himself. 

“But wood is a natural conductor...we’re surrounded by trees which means we’re even more likely to get struck...what if there’s something metal on top of the cabin?...what if the cabin catches on fire?...And if each lightning strike carries up to one billion volt of electricity...and the possibility of a tree being struck and exploded is likely...what if—”

** _*BOOM*_ **

Link’s quiet ramblings were interrupted as a loud clap of thunder shook the cabin again. It seemed that the storm was almost directly above them, and the wind picked up as did the rain. A flash of light could be seen outside the broken window and the horses outside whinnied loudly.

Link jumped back from the window and Zelda could hear his breath grow heavier. The lantern swung in the centre of the room and Link had both hands over his ears, kneeling on the floor. 

“Link!”

Zelda leapt from the bed and ran over to Link, wrapping her arms around his back and pulling him up slowly. 

“Is it the storm? Is that what’s bothering you?” she asked frantically. Link’s tense body was shaking like a leaf and his hair was sleek with sweat The hero seemed to get ahold of himself, pushing the princess away softly, standing up and backing away from her. 

“Link, come back to bed and we can talk there.” Zelda offered, gesturing towards the cozy, warm bed. Link turned his back on the princess, hugging himself tightly. Zelda could see his shoulders still shook, and he stuttered out a few words. 

“I’m...I’m fine...I’m fine, Zel..”

His voice was shaky, unstable, and Zelda knew better than to just let him stand there in such a state. 

“Link, why won’t you just come here?” she asked him tenderly. The wind blew through the windows and Zelda felt herself shiver. Link seemed almost agitated that she was still convincing him to come to her. 

“Zelda, I said I’m  _ fine. _ It’s stupid, anyw—”

** _*BOOM*_ **

The lantern swinging suddenly blew out, leaving them in complete darkness, A broken-sounding cry came from Link as he stumbled in blind panic through the darkness and into Zelda’s arms. She wrapped one arm around his back, the other tenderly on the back of his head. His head fell into her chest and she thought she could hear a soft whimper escape him. 

“Okay, back to bed.” she said gently, leading both of them to the bed in the darkness. Another thunderclap had the whole cabin shaking from its foundation and Zelda felt Link’s shoulders tense up. 

“So it  _ is _ the storm, then?” she asked quietly, guiding him to the walled side of the bed this time. Link tried to get ahold of his breathing as he was set back into bed, but failed miserably as another clap of thunder and a crash of lightning could be heard from outside.

“You didn’t have to keep it from me. We could have talked about it, you know.” Zelda pried, getting under the covers herself and inching closer to Link. 

“We don’t just... _ talk _ about things, do we  _ Zelda?” _

Link’s sudden composure surprised the princess. He seemed almost angry at what she had said, judging by his harsh tone and the way his face was pressed into the pillow. 

“What?”

“Of..of course you wouldn’t know that I hate storms. Because we never  _ talk.  _ We can never talk about what happened during the Calamity, or the hundred years that just  _ happened,  _ or—or  _ anything!” _

Zelda began to understand where he was coming from. But he had never been so upset before, it shook her to the core. 

“Link…”

“You wouldn’t know how long I spent in that  _ fucking _ Divine Beast,  _ hours  _ and  _ hours _ of trying not to get killed—trying not to  _ fall off of it _ in order to save Urbosa! And that goddamn fight—it was  _ so fast, _ that—that  _ thing _ and lightning it would shoot was—

Link halted his rant, his eyes lighting up with that very same fear that he felt when he first felt the electric shock go through his veins, the first time he felt his heart stop, the first time he felt his body vibrate with the pure electricity that was coursing through his veins. 

And suddenly he wasn’t in a cabin in the woods anymore—he was  _ there.  _

_ He was right there in Vah Naboris again, fending for himself again, the hunger pangs in his stomach refusing to cease as the food in his inventory had long depleted. He was right there, reliving his inner cries for help that no one would ever answer.  _

_ And he was reliving the fight; every minute of it.  _

_ He could feel the scars on his back start to bleed, the voltage running under his skin, the complete and utter helplessness, and a shrill cry that he didn’t know was coming out of his own throat until he felt himself clutching his chest, gasping for air, and the shell-shocked emptiness that he felt when Thunderblight finally died.  _

_ He stood in shock as Urbosa blessed upon him the power to control the one thing that he feared besides Ganon himself, and warped him back to the desert.  _

_ He was reliving the grueling moments in which he would sit in his house in Hateno just days after and do...nothing. Nothing but sit there and wonder if there was anything left worth fighting for. If he really was just in this whole thing alone, and if he should be feeling this empty about “saving his home”.  _

_ He walked out of his house, and fought and killed a Lionel. No—two. Just to feel something, any kind of feeling at all.  _

And then he was sobbing. He was back in the cabin in the woods and he was wrapped up in Zelda’s arms and  _ sobbing  _ his heart out. And his breath was so shallow that he could feel his lungs in his throat and the tight hug that Zelda was pulling him into as he felt endless tears streaming down his face and onto Zelda’s shirt and the blankets.

And he tried to put a hand over his mouth as his crying got louder and louder and his entire body shook even more violently, but Zelda tenderly lifted the hand off his face and squeezed it tightly, saying nothing.

And the crashing of the thunder made him cry even harder in pure fear as he clung onto the princess, begging for the world to stop spinning.

And then it did. 

The lightning and thunder slowly got farther and farther, but the rain remained, sprinkling overtop the roof and dulling his cries. Link breathed shakily and felt himself shake just a little bit less, cry just a little bit softer. His eyes felt puffy and his face still wet with salty tears, but he felt alive again. He was here in present time again. 

He didn’t dare lift his face up in fear of what the princess thought of him now. Some hero, getting worked up over a little bit of rain. It was humiliating. 

The two of them said nothing for a long while, and Link remained with his head buried in her chest, breathing slowly as his small hiccups subsided. Finally grasping the courage to look up, he lifted his gaze to find the princess in near tears. Her face looked tender, as if remembering something that deeply hurt. Link opened his mouth to explain himself. 

“Zelda, I—” 

“I told you that I’d been watching you all this time.” she said unsteadily, her eyes glazed over with unshed tears, “I told you that after the final battle. But that was a lie.” 

Link grew confused.  _ What is she talking about? _

“I said that I’d been watching you and your perilous quests, but I never truly  _ saw _ you. For those hundred years, I couldn’t see anything. It was strange, really. It was like I didn’t have a body. I couldn’t see you, but I could sense you.” she continued, “I could sense how brave you were, and when you grew closer and closer to Hyrule Castle, and whenever you took control over another Divine Beast. But I never felt anything that you felt. I never knew of your endless hunger, your constant fight with life and death, and Link, if I had known, I would have done  _ everything _ I could to help you.” 

Link could tell she was on the verge of crying now too, so he locked eyes with her and gave her a teary smile. 

“It’s okay.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Zelda sighed and embraced him closer. And they spoke freely about things, freely without anyone to judge. They spoke about the things that they were capable of, the things that gave them great pain and none at all. They spoke until the rain stopped hitting the roof and their eyes became heavy with exhaustion. They both drifted off into an easy sleep, and Link chuckled as Zelda’s eyelashes tickled his forehead.

“We really need to talk more.”

  
  


  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Welp. I ended on a kind-of positive note at least...right? 
> 
> Kudos and comments make my heart go "W H O O P" so it would be wonderful if I had some feedback, especially since this is my first posted BOTW work!


End file.
